Evermore
by Darkest of Storms
Summary: Who would've ever thought that something as simple as forgetting a coupon inside your car could completely change your life? Original Novel by Darkest of Storms.
1. Prologue

p data-p-id="5107fef9f1b24f43121a49de7b7aef8e"I'm not sure how you got your hands on this novel, but there's a 99% chance you're not meant to have it. Here's a little bit of advice for you; take this back to whatever store you found it in. Return it to the library. Delete it from whatever device you're using, because I can guarantee you, you have no idea how much danger you're in./p  
p data-p-id="9487639f6f563c05c81b5bab4813503e"I have already said too much, but as soon as you open the first page of this book, I can't ensure that they won't find you./p  
p data-p-id="3cccffe189e48b3a818ba7a4c0b1c531"I can't tell you any more than this, but I can assure you that if you read this, I can't protect you. My story was meant to be kept silent, and they will not be pleased to see it in your hands./p  
p data-p-id="6e004606c379702a771211e91124a8dd"Listen to me on this; I don't advise you to read this. If you do, they will know. They are probably watching you even now as you contemplate disregarding my advice./p  
p data-p-id="c6cecbef94be62680c22701171d8f618"Remember, they are watching. So be aware that after you read the first word of the next page.../p  
p data-p-id="c4b1a2dd3f97e930e7820a60bc094051"All bets are off./p  
p data-p-id="0c4f41a6669fbef2ad681eb4e4ede693"They will know, and they will find you./p  
p data-p-id="bea74e34d0d2bdbdc27cd9e6c678c231"I just pray to God that you'll be saved in time./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cfe201de5943405c840233fec4378a45" /p 


	2. Chapter 1

_**Evermore - Chapter 1**_

Drip.

Drip.

Drop.

I let out a sigh, pressing my forehead against the cold tile of my shower. It was only a few weeks before school let back in, and I would be forced to deal with people I didn't like once more.

I was never the popular girl in high school. I didn't get bullied much; I usually just stuck to the shadows with the few friends I had. It wasn't much, but it kept me going.

I slid against the tile, slipping down onto the shower floor with a groan. The cold wet tiles bit into my back, scratching against my skin. No comfort was to be found in this dreary bathroom stall.

None of my friends were answering my texts yet again. Heather was the only one who usually responded to me, but she was out on a date with her new boyfriend. And I was all alone.

Another sigh forced its way out of my mouth and my breath fogged against the tile. I had already finished my shower, but I couldn't find the energy to move. What was the point in hurrying out? It wasn't like I ever had plans other than to sit on my computer typing the night away to people I'd never even met.

Shaking my head, I slowly rose to my feet and wrenched open the shower door. I just hoped that maybe tomorrow would be a bit more interesting.

Soft carpeting cushioned my footfalls as I made my way into my bedroom, casually drying my hair as best as I could with my towel. My computer chair made a squeak of protest as I sat down to turn on my computer and see who all was online.

Logging into my usual chatrooms proved useless, as nobody who I found particularly interesting was online. I instead switched onto one of my online games, and found myself quickly immersed in the online world of Smite.

Gaming was one of my hobbies that never failed to put a smile on my face. I'd spent many nights playing all the way until the sun rised, and I always woke up the next morning feeling tired yet pleasantly happy.

A message flooded onto my Steam account and lit the lower right hand corner of my screen up. It was from one of my online friends, Sabryn. She and I had been friends for years after meeting on World of Warcraft, and it was common for us to stay up gaming together.

"Hey, what's up?" I messaged, smiling at the thought that at least one of my friends still thought of me. We were both pretty unknown at our schools and didn't make much of an impact as far as social groups went on.

"Oh nothing, just the fact that I'm going to be moving closer to you in about a week." Wait, what?

Sabryn lived a few hours away from me, and her mother always seemed adamant about her staying in their small town. I guess she had finally made her mother crack.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. We're going to be renting an apartment in the city because my dad's job asked him to move. It's great, isn't it?"

"Of course! I can't wait!" I grinned, twirling in my chair from excitement. Finally, something was going my way. Maybe the rest of my summer wouldn't turn out so bad, after all.

An orange beam of light suddenly filled my vision, turning my formerly darkened world into a blinding swirl of brilliant lights. Letting out a muffled sound of protest, I quickly rolled over and stuffed myself under my covers to avoid the ghastly light.

"Oh no you don't, Ashlynn. Come on, wake up. We have places to go." My mother finished drawing back my curtains to allow sunlight to flood into my room, effectively preventing any plans I might have had about going back to sleep.

"Mom, why do you have to wake me up so early on weekends?" I whined, throwing my covers off of my head with a huff. So much for the wonderful dreams I was having.

"It's not even that early. It's only 8:00." I let out a groan, rolling my eyes. I'd hate to see what time she thought was early.

"Only 8:00? The sun has barely had time to rise! Can't I go back to sleep?" I pleaded, trying my best to guilt her into letting me fall back asleep with my widened puppy dog eyes. Unfortunately, she had become immune to my charms over the years and simply rolled her eyes at my pathetic attempts.

"Get up. I told you yesterday we needed to go to the mall. School starts up in a week, and you have no clothes that fit you. Come on, this is your senior year! You should be excited to get out and live your life."

"I can live my life fine from here, thanks." I flopped back onto my bed, pulling my covers up over my head once more. Just as quickly as I had pulled them up, my mom wrenched them from my grasp and pulled them off of my bed.

"You're going, Ashlynn, and that's the end of it. I expect you to be downstairs in 15 minutes or else we won't stop for donuts. And you won't get the surprise I have for you."

The word 'donuts' immediately piqued my interest, and I found myself hopping out of bed to get changed just moments before my mom walked out of my room.

I pulled on my shorts I wore the previous day, tugging them up over my wide hips and snapping the button in the front to hold them in place. I quickly shed my pajama shirt onto the floor and switched it out for a more publicly appropriate graphic tee. My feet quickly found their way into my flip flops, and in just a few short moments I made my way into the bathroom to check my outfit. It looked decent enough on me, but it wasn't like I was trying to impress anyone.

Darkened brown eyes met my gaze in the mirror just a shade lighter than coal black. I often found myself pondering whether I'd look better with blue eyes, and today I decided I would look best with them. Pulling open my drawer, I quickly fished out my blue contacts and slid them over my eyes.

After a few moments of blinking, I looked up at the mirror to find cerulean oceans gazing back at me with a calm smile. I preferred having blue eyes most of the time, and they looked completely natural on me. Once I took a few moments to admire the contacts and adjust my eyesight I quickly finished getting ready.

I ran into my room, grabbing my phone off of its resting place on my nightstand. I was briefly distracted by the notification light flickering on and off, but after scrolling through I realized it was only miscellaneous apps giving me random notifications.

Darn, I thought I was popular for once.

Of course nobody would've messaged me back. It didn't surprise me anymore that my friends had forgotten about me over the summer. It was a typical routine; I would watch people from their social media posts and feel left out while everyone else had fun with their summer.

I shook my head, dispelling my thoughts. At least Sabryn hadn't forgotten me. That had to count for something.

With my phone in hand and my headset around my neck, I was finally ready for our expedition to the mall. My feet thudded against wood thinly veiled by carpeting as I made my way downstairs to where my mother awaited me.

A quick glance at the clock showed me that I was, in fact, right on time. That was pretty unusual for me, but what can I say, I love my donuts.

"You're finally ready. Come on, let's go. We have a lot to do today, young lady." My mom sighed, and normally I would've protested about how I was actually on time, but I decided to let it go and instead follow in her footsteps outside.

The drive to the mall would normally have only taken us 30 minutes, but my extra stop for donuts added an extra 10 minutes onto that. We finally strolled into the mall at around 9:00, but that extra 10 minutes barely made a difference. The mall had just opened at 8:30, and there was hardly anyone milling about between stores. I was grateful for the silence; large crowds and loud talking weren't my cup of tea this early in the morning.

I took a bite out of my donut, savoring the flavor as my mom rambled on about the sales at each store that she had seen online. My mother was quite the crazy shopper, and often made a habit of buying too much whenever she went out to shop. Judging based on the amount of coupons she had brought with her, I assumed it was going to be one of those days today.

"Now, do you want to know what your surprise is?" My mother questioned, a grin plastered across her face as she moved in front of me. I had completely forgotten about the surprise she had promised and quickly nodded my consent.

"Turn around, you idiot."

I whirled around, tackling the familiar form with a squeal of delight. My day instantly became ten times better at the sound of Sabryn's voice.

"Surprise! I bet you didn't expect to see me here." She grinned, wrapping her arms around me and returning my hug.

"Of course I didn't! I'm so glad you're here. I thought you wouldn't be coming to the city until next week when you moved?"

"I thought so too, but my mom needed to check on the apartment and make sure it was absolutely what we wanted. She dropped me off here so I could spend time with you while she checked out the town."

"That's amazing! This is amazing. Thank you, Mom." I grinned, and we quickly set off to start shopping.

"Oh, that boy is cute..." Sabryn whispered, pointing at a man halfway across the store. I could only see him from the side, but what I could see was in fact fairly cute. His back was leaned against the window to another clothing store, his eyes fixated on someone but I couldn't tell who.

"Come on, Ashlynn. Sabryn. We need to hit every store today, because I'm not coming back tomorrow." My mother continued on ahead of us, making me groan. She walked too quickly for my liking.

I noticed a dark figure staring at me from inside one of the stores, but they quickly averted their gaze from mine. It gave me a bad feeling, but I swept it aside and instead walked closer to my mom. The feeling soon went away, and I found myself enjoying the time I was spending with my mother and best friend.

We ambled about the mall for a few hours, and eventually my arms became so weighted with clothes and bags that I felt like they would fall off. We were inside our final clothing store of the day before we were going to head home. I was counting my lucky stars. We had been out all day and it was nearly 8:00 before my mom announced that this would be our final stop of the day.

"Oh stop your complaining. This is all for you; why would I carry your bags?"

"But mom... It's heavy! Can't you at least help me carry a little?" I whined, my footfalls sounding more like lead hitting the marbled floor of the mall rather than a human's foot. My feet were going numb! I intensely regretted my idea to wear flip flops. Blisters lined the bottoms of my feet, making me wince with every step. Only I would choose such inappropriate footwear on such a busy day.

"Fine. I need you to go out to the car anyways. Go put those bags in the back of the car, and then go grab the J.C. Penny coupon I left in the console. And hurry it up; it's getting late so make sure you—"

"Pay attention to what's around me. I know, Mom." I cut her off, my impatience fueled by the growing numbness in my arms. My mom quickly tossed me the car keys, urging me along while securing our place in checkout. Sabryn waved at me, grinning sarcastically at me. She guilted me into carrying all of her clothes, too. Traitor.

I placed my earbuds into my ears, comforted by the soft lilting voices that soothed my tired mind. It had been a long day, and I couldn't wait to get these dreadful bags off of my poor arms.

I clicked the unlock button twice on the key fob. A quick click followed my pressing, announcing that the car was unlocked and ready to be opened. I yanked open the hatch on the back of the car, sighing with relief as I lowered the bags down onto the floorboard.

I rubbed my arms as the blood began to flow back into them. I almost began to walk back to the store before I remembered my mom asking for the coupon inside of the center console.

I was just about to turn around when a figure darted from the shadows, wrenching me backwards and slamming a palm over my mouth. Shock filled my body, preventing me from fighting as my small form was dragged backwards towards the shadows. Out of all of the thoughts swirling through my head, only one stood out predominantly.

'Oh, s***'

 **\- N . M -**

 **So, how was the first chapter? Please let me know. It's a little short, and I'll probably edit/rewrite it later. I expect to write much more in the future.**

 **Let me know if you have any criticisms, or would like to help me on this journey writing this novel.**

 **By the way, if anyone is curious, the girl in the book cover is me. Designed the cover myself!**

 **~ D.o.S ~**


	3. Chapter 2

_**Nevermore – Chapter 2**_

The arm circling my waist tightened down on my hips and pulled my body backwards into the shadows where I assumed their vehicle must be. Crap, I needed to move!

Shock flooded my system, paralyzing me and preventing me from fighting back. What was I doing? At this rate, I'd be a goner before I even knew what was happening.

A sudden burst of adrenaline surged through my veins, snapping me out of my trance as I began to fight back. I wasn't going to go down without a fight! I wasn't much of a fighter, but I still held a decent amount of muscle in my small frame.

My heel slammed backwards into his foot in a hopeful attempt to halt his movements. Unfortunately for me, flip flops didn't make for the best combat footwear.

I began to writhe in his arms, twisting to and fro to try and dislodge his iron grip on my body but it was no use. I was trapped, and there was nothing I could do about it. The hand covering my mouth muffled my screams of terror as I realized there was no escape for me. This was it. I was done for.

My struggles became more fearful than anything, my body throwing itself forwards and backwards to at least slow his movements. Maybe if I fought long enough, someone would see it and help.

My eyes met that of a young couple strolling out to their car that had stopped due to the commotion and were staring with eyes wide open. Finally, my help had arrived! Or so I thought.

They looked at one another with a flash of fear before hurrying into their car, refusing to meet my gaze as they hopped in and sped away.

'Cowards...' I internally hissed, feeling slightly betrayed by these strangers. Yeah, I'd never met them before, but I couldn't help but feel alone as my body was tugged back into the shadows once more.

"You'd better stop struggling, little girl. You'll only make things worse on yourself." A deep voice chuckled with a harsh grating sound of a smoker. The smell of cigarettes and alcohol laced the air, most likely wafting from the sick man holding me hostage.

"Hold still..." He hissed before slamming his fist into my skull. Pain exploded in twinkling stars across my vision sending me reeling from the impact. He took notice of my lack of resistance as I tried to regain my senses and yanked me a large distance backwards.

"Atta girl, now you keep being nice and maybe I'll let you go when we're –"

He was quickly cut off by a sickening crack that echoed the air. My captor let out a moan of pain, causing the steel cables wrapping my waist to loosen. Taking advantage of the sudden lack of tension I propelled my body forwards, darting out of his grip and slamming myself to the ground. My knees skidded across the pavement and left bloody gashes along my palms and legs as I tried to cushion my impact on the ground. My still disoriented mind had yet to register that I was free, but it quickly dawned on me that I was somewhat out of danger.

I whirled around, coming face to face with a taller male frame that hovered over my thick captor with malice. Paralyzed with fear, I could only sit and watch as the newcomer in the fight flashed forwards and slammed his fist into my attempted kidnapper's head.

"Who the hell are you?!" The older man yelled, cursing before grabbing my savior by the shoulders and slamming him against my mother's car with a loud thud. My mom definitely wouldn't be happy about the dents that was going to leave.

The mysterious man lunged forwards and pushed the man away slightly before ramming his knee into the stomach of the drunken fiend, eliciting a groan of pain from the criminal. Saliva dripped from his hairy lips onto the pavement, but the momentum from the kneeing knocked the taller man slightly off balance. A sick grin wormed its way across the older man's face as he realized the kid made a mistake. His heavy body slammed into the kid, knocking him off balance and sending them both crashing to the ground.

I couldn't just sit there and watch as this man attacked my rescuer! I hurriedly glanced at my surroundings, trying to look for something I could use as a weapon. There was no way I could take this man on without something to use. There had to be something around me that I could use to at least hold him off.

My gaze landed on a medium sized chuck of pavement that cracked off when a pothole opened in the side of the road, and I hastily crawled over to grasp the jagged shard of rock. The rough surface scraped my already bloodied palms and made me wince from the way it cut into my palm, but I had no time to worry about my silly scrapes.

Loud thuds echoed from between the two cars, the sound of flesh hitting flesh causing me to cringe. Panic flooded my system, and I only hoped I could get to them before someone got seriously injured. I threw off my flip flops, knowing that I definitely couldn't fight off such a heavy man wearing such flimsy footwear.

My feet slammed against the rough pavement as I ran through the thin gap, fear propelling my body forward. It was now or never! I smashed the rock against my previous captor's head with all my strength, my fingers grating across the harsh surface of the rock as it dug into his skull with a sickening thud. A bloodied gash marred the back of his head, revealed by the glinting liquid seeping down onto the pavement as he slumped to the ground.

My breathing came in harsh gasps as I came to my senses from the horrific incident. My heart was absolutely racing from the fear propelling through my system. I shook my head, attempting to slow my heartrate and breathing as I leaned up against the car.

I was safe..? I thought I was a goner for sure.

The younger man quickly shoved the unconscious drunkard off of him, a look of disdain crossing his face before his eyes met mine.

Holy crap, he was cute. Not in your typical player way, though. His features made him look slightly older upon first glance, but he couldn't be more than a few years older than I was. His jet black hair fell swept in front of his eyes, slightly framing the side of his face. His hair was ruffled and sticking up in places from the fight, but it made him look more untamed than anything.

I noticed upon closer inspection that a bruise was beginning to form around his left eye. The light purple tone clashed with his pale blue eyes and bright skin, making him appear more frightening from the dark shadows that fell across his face.

His gaze finally broke away from mine as he stood up, towering over me easily as he sidestepped the body and moved closer to me. His eyes glanced over me, and I assumed that he was inspecting me for injuries. His next words only proved my assumption true.

"Are you alright?" He asked in a velvety tone, and my whole world came to a stop. His voice was deep and rich, and I realized that I loved his voice. His entire appearance screamed out that he was definitely more than I could handle, but all I could imagine was how it would feel to be in his arms.

Maybe I was just crushing because of the whole knight in shining armor cliché, but he wasn't hard to look at. At all.

"Oh... Uh Y-Yeah, I'm fine!" I stuttered out, mentally slapping myself. Smooth, Ash. "You're the one who needs to be worried about... Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." His gaze traveled down the parking lot to where my mother rushed out of the store with an panicked look on her face that faded to anger once she saw me. Sabryn followed closely behind her, a look of worry plastered across her features.

"I just need to get out of here..." His voice was slightly slurred as he stumbled between the cars in an attempt to get away, his head obviously swimming from the multitude of hits he took for me.

"Oh no you don't mister. You're obviously in no condition to go anywhere." I reached out and grasped his arm only to find myself focusing on how well muscled his arms were. Come on, Ashlynn. Get a grip.

"I'm fine. Just leave me alone." His tone filled me with ice, shocking me from the cold manner that he replied to me with. I was only trying to help... His eyes turned sympathetic, a sigh leaving his lips.

"You don't want to be seen with me, trust me." He amended, his eyes darting around the parking lot as if he was searching for something. But what?

"Ashlynn, what in the hell are you doing? I sent you out here 10 minutes ago. I had to buy all of those clothes without my coupon so I could come out here and check on you. And who is this boy?" My mom nagged, hurriedly rushing to the car to deposit the few bags she carried without noticing the unconscious man slumped between the cars.

"Excuse me Ma'am, but your daughter was almost abducted just now. That's probably why she's a little late getting back to you." My mysterious savior saved me once more from having to explain, effectively silencing my mother's arguments.

"Wait, what?" Shock filled my mother's voice as she glanced over my form to find the cuts and scrapes from where I fell. Her gaze fell on the comatose man slumped between the cars, her mouth forming an 'o' from surprise.

"Are you alright?" My mother hurriedly pulled me in for a hug, shaking like a leaf. "I can't believe I almost lost my daughter... I'm never going to let you out of my sight again."

"I'm fine Mom, thanks to..." I trailed off, looking up at my protector.

"Sebastian." He filled in for me as my mom released me from her death-grip of a hug.

"Oh thank you so much, Sebastian. I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to my little Ashlynn. Is there any way I can repay you?" My mother chattered, moving over to the tall teenager and grasping his hand. Sabryn looked rather skeptical, distrust evident in her gaze as she glanced him over.

"Not at all, Ma'am. I just did what I thought was necessary."

"Do you need an ambulance? You don't look so well..." My mother noted, taking in his disheveled and disoriented appearance.

"No thank you, I'll be fine on my own." Sebastian shook his head and began to walk away, waving at us as he attempted to leave. What? Why was he in such a hurry to get away? His long strides took him farther away from us, and with each step I found myself more curious about this mysterious man. He opened the door of a dark black truck, sliding into it and I found myself yelling out to him before I could think.

"Wait!" I called, trying to make him stop. Sebastian turned to look at me, his gaze blank of any emotion that I could've read from his expression. I opened my mouth, unsure of what to say. I really didn't think this through.

"You need to stay... The cops will need a testimony from you, right?"

"I think your words will be more than enough for them." Just as quickly as he had appeared, Sebastian vanished into the night, leaving me brimming with more questions than I had answers for. Just who was he, and why did he save me? Why didn't he seem to want to be caught near me? I didn't know much, but I knew one thing for sure.

I definitely wanted to see him again.


End file.
